The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of car body protectors and more specifically relates to a retractable impact protection system for use with a vehicle body, entitled ‘ding-saver/ding-guard’.
2. Description of the Related Art
To many people in modern society, the automobile is a status symbol of class. The more expensive the car, the greater the income or wealth is expected to be of the person who owns it. This is not always true because many people are just automobile buffs who enjoy spending a disproportionate percentage of their income on restoring old automobiles or retrofitting newer automobiles with add-ons and upgraded accessories. To many people, automobiles are a hobby, and as such, the expense and labor put into them seem much more justifiable. Besides a home, the automobile may be the biggest single purchase that a person makes. Automobiles can also be an investment. Older classic cars that have been completely restored command a sales price that usually far exceeds the original purchase price. Some car owners have large fortunes in the form of rare and classic restored cars that are relatively safe from the ups and downs of financial market fluctuations.
The thing that almost all rare, expensive, and classic restored (or un-restored) cars have in common is a flawless body and a beautiful paint job. It is desirable that the vehicle body remain free of dents with no scratches in the paint in order to retain its value such that it looks ‘right’ and is easily re-sellable. The owner can expect to drive the car for several years and then re-sell it for enough money to get at least a good portion of the original purchase price back.
The biggest detriment to maintaining the value of an automobile investment and realizing a good resale value is the degradation of the automobile body's appearance. A quality paint job can cost a substantial sum. It is unfortunate that the value of a paint job can be greatly diminished in seconds by people who have no money invested in your car, who carelessly open their car doors into the sides of your car leaving dents and scratches. Careless shoppers almost daily set shopping carts free to speed downhill into the sides of expensive cars and damage costly paint jobs. The most common repairs that automobile body shops make are from parking lot dings and scratches accumulated over time. A costly automobile paint job is a vulnerable investment. There is a need for a conveniently deployable protector to help protect the automobile owner's investments.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,563,594; 4,958,881; 7,464,982; 2,724,395; 4,856,842; and 5,022,700. This prior art is representative of car body protectors. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a car body protector should provide adequate protection and convenience of use, and yet, would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a user-friendly, reliable retractable impact protection system for use with a vehicle body to provide protection for vehicle body exterior surfaces and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.